February 1 through 9The Planet Parade ContinuesFebruary 8 and 9Alpha Centaurids Meteor Shower Predicted PeakFebruary 12Full Snow MoonFebruary 16Venus Reaches Peak Brightness of 2025Were in the depths of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. If you can force yourself out from the covers and into the cold, dark night, therell be plenty to see in the night skycloud cover permitting. Here are some of this months highlights.February 1 through 9: The Planet Parade ContinuesAs we discussed last month, late January and early February will provide a stage for a Planet Parade, with six planets lining up in the night sky. On February 1, we should see the crescent moon in close proximity to Venus for the second-last time this year. The last time will be March 1. On February 5, the moon will be awfully close to Uranus, although youll need a telescope to see it. By February 6, the moon will be directly above Jupiter. And finally, on February 9, its Mars turn to appear closest to the moon. You can consult the Farmers Almanac for the details on the ins and outs of the 2025 Planet Parade.February 8 and 9: Alpha Centaurids Meteor Shower Predicted PeakFebruary is a pretty subdued month as far as meteor showers go. However, If you happen to be in the Southern Hemisphere, theres one shower that reaches peak brightness this month: the Alpha Centaurids. Sadly, they wont be as bright this year as in other years, as their peak brightness on February 8 will coincide with the waning moon, but at least theyll be there.February 12: Full Snow MoonFebruarys full moon is known as the Snow Moon, for fairly obvious reasons. The name comes from the Naudowessie tribe of North Dakota, but similar names are found amongst many other Native American languages. These include the Deep Snow Moon (Mahican), Midwinter Moon (Oneida), Hungry Month (Cherokee), When the Bear Cubs are Born Moon (Anishinaabemowin), and the somewhat more optimistic First Flower Moon (Catawba).The moon will be at its brightest at 8:53 a.m. EST on February 12, but itll be below the horizon.Its brightest visible appearances will be the night before or a little later in the day on the 12th. To calculate exactly when the moon will be at its brightest near you, consult the Farmers Almanacs moonrise calculator.February 16: Venus Reaches Peak Brightness of2025Venus! It might be a stifling hellscape up close, but its awfully pretty in the night sky. Therell be no better time to see it this year than on February 16weather permitting. That night,. Venus will be the brightest it will be in 2025, with a stunning magnitude of 4.6. It should be the brightest object in the sky apart from the moon.The usual sky gazing rules are key this month: Go to a dark spot away from the lights of a city or town and let your eyes adjust to the darkness for about a half an hour.The post February stargazing: Planet parade continues and Venus shines appeared first on Popular Science.